Kristen’s angry gaze clashed with Sergio’s furious glare. ‘You keep saying you would have supported him, but I don’t understand how you would have done. You were married when Nico was born. How could he have lived with you in Sicily? Why did your marriage end, anyway?’ She could not deny her curiosity. ‘Did your wife leave you or...’
‘She died.’
‘I...I’m sorry,’ she whispered, shocked as much by the revelation as by the complete lack of emotion in Sergio’s voice. She wanted to ask him: when? How? For the past four years she had been haunted by the photo she had seen in a magazine of the beautiful woman Sergio had married. She had been jealous, Kristen admitted to herself.
‘Did you love her?’ She could not hold back the question that had burned inside her for four years.
‘It’s none of your business.’
His reply was polite but dismissive and she flushed, hating herself for her curiosity and him for his arrogance. Determined not to risk another put-down, she stared out of the window and willed the traffic jam to clear before she was any later for work.
‘I’m surprised that I have never seen your name mentioned by the media.’
Puzzled by the statement, she glanced at him. ‘Why on earth should I be of interest to anyone?’
‘Four years ago you were regarded as one of the best gymnasts in the UK and were tipped to win a gold medal at the world championships. But after you left Sicily and returned to England you seemed to disappear from the sport.’ Sergio’s jaw hardened. ‘I realise now that you must have taken a break from training and competitions while you were pregnant. But didn’t you return to gymnastics after Nico was born?’
Kristen shook her head. ‘I never competed again after I had him. I gave up gymnastics completely. It wasn’t possible to combine the hours of training necessary to compete at world-class level with being a mother,’ she explained when she saw the surprise in Sergio’s eyes.
‘But gymnastics meant the world to you.’
‘Nico is my world now,’ she said simply. ‘Being his mother is more important to me than anything.’
She turned her head to the window to watch the traffic crawling along Tottenham Court Road, and missed the sharp look Sergio gave her. ‘It will be quicker for me to walk the rest of the way to work. The clinic isn’t far from here.’
Sergio asked the driver to pull over, but as Kristen was about to step out of the car he put his hand on her arm. ‘Here’s my phone number in case you need to get hold of me. I’ll meet you at Nico’s nursery at five-thirty to drive you both home.’
She took the business card he handed her and shoved it into her pocket. ‘There’s no need for you to come to the nursery. I usually take Nico to the park on the way home.’
‘Then I’ll bring a football and we will stop off at the park. I’m looking forward to being able to play with my son.’
‘Fine.’ She looked away from the challenge in his eyes, determined not to let him see how scared she felt that he might truly try to win custody of Nico. Sergio could easily afford the best lawyers, but heaven knew how she would afford to pay legal costs if there was a lengthy court case. The possibility that she could be forced to give up her son filled Kristen with dread.
CHAPTER FIVE